P-51D N6522D 44-74425 when owned by Harold Beal. Belive he had acquired N51HB registration but it was never applied.

T J Johansen

02/26/2011 11:12

I have an idea that the aircraft is 44-74425 N6522D while owned by Harold Beal, or shortly after he sold it.

Bill Wheeler

03/13/2014 17:28

I'd like to add a small bit to the history of this Mustang. In 1968 I was a young kid in love with aviation. I'd regularly ride my bicycle out to the local airports to spend time looking at airplanes and dreaming of the day when I would be able to get my pilot's license. In mid-1968, on a ride to Falcon Field, in Mesa, AZ, I spotted a beautiful red, white & black P-51D, N-number N6522D. The aircraft belonged to Charles "Chas" Harral, the owner and chief pilot of Superstition Air Service. I found out that Mr. Harral would give rides in the Mustang for $50 for 30 minutes. I saved up my paper route earnings until I had $50. In August of 1968, I got my ride with Mr. Harral in '22D. It was an incredible experience that I can still remember to this day. Mr. Harral passed away several years ago, and N6522D now resides at an aviation museum in the Netherlands, but I will always be grateful to "Chas" for giving me the chance to ride in his Mustang! P.S. There was an article in Air Progress Magazine--I believe it was the Sept. 1968 issue--about the hazards of flying warbirds, especially low-altitude, low-airspeed go-arounds--that included several photos of N6522D to help illustrate the article.

Floyd Webb

03/15/2014 18:48

Mr Wheeler is correct, the Sept 1968 Air Progress has an article titled "So you'd like to fly a fighter plane" by Mike Dillon. Interesting read. Can anybody out there identify the individual on page 20 standing next to the P-51?

Case Closed!

Send in Your Response

Name:

Email:

Enter "mustang" backwards:

Response:

Name and Response are shared with all readers. Email is private and never shared.